10 Amazing Character Moments In The Matrix Trilogy
4. Cypher - The Betrayal Scene
Even before the scene where Cypher meets with Agent Smith and discusses treacherous plans over a steak dinner, audience members knew there was something fishy about the character.
His creeping and snivelling behind the scenes put audiences at unease for the first half of the film, and those feelings came to a head toward the end of The Matrix's second act when an ambush separates the crew jacked-in to the Matrix.
Cypher turns his on the crew and his betrayal comes to light. The scene is an exquisitely tense sequence of events that highlight no matter how skilled a fighter the crew are inside the Matrix, they are still at the helpless mercy of anything and anyone in the real world.
The cold-blooded killing of Dozer, Apoc and Switch by Cypher ramps up the tension more, and as he monologues his motives for betraying the team, we can't help but empathise with him - just a little.
Cypher is a prime example of how careful one should be with deciding who to offer the red pill to; his resentment for Morpheus, jealousy for Neo, and disdain for the life he lives on the Nebuchadnezzar are unveiled in a brilliantly written and acted scene that is carried almost solely by Joe Pantoliano. And just when he thinks he has the upper hand, a twist of fate and comeuppance thwarts him at the very last minute.